Goodwood Festival Of Speed - A - Z

G

Grandstands

Full disclosure I have never sat in a grandstand, there is so much more that I feel that I have to do and I strive to get around see absolutely everything. I attend the festival on multiple days both alone and with my wife and seeing friends at the festival is a constant occurrence no matter which day I attend so I can fully understand the appeal of the grandstands to take a more sedate pace to my visit. I think if the festival was a full week, I might just about find a day or an afternoon to kick back and relax in one of the grandstands, although even then I would probably try and visit all of them to work out the best vantage point.

Dotted along the Hillclimb are these raised seated grandstands which place you above the bobbing heads and people hustling for a position at the rope and hay bail barriers. Enabling you a clear view down at the track and the cars as they career past, this unrestricted view means you can see them coming from further away, then, as they continue on their way round a corner or under some trees all while you sit comfortably having a drink and a snack giving your feet a well-deserved rest from all that walking you will no doubt have been doing.

Think I might be talking myself into a grandstand ticket for next year now…

Goodwood House

Is it right to refer to Goodwood house as the centre piece when there is so much else going on around you, I mean there’s even a huge sculpture on the front lawn that could easily steal all of the attention of the house itself; I am glad to say that even with all that in mind it stands alone in its magnificence and even becomes a part of the festival in its own right; It spends its day’s being admired and lit up by camera flashes and then in the evening it hosts a glamourous party in the evening, being lit up by the exploding colours of fireworks. The swathe of luxury cars that roll up that gravel driveway is only fitting for a house of this nature…

What might not be quite so fitting is how the motorbikes treat the place, starting with Trials legend Dougie Lampkin who felt it ok to ride, mainly on one wheel I might add, across the immaculate wooden floor, past the grand pianos, around the back garden before returning to the house, up the stairs, looked upon by huge (and no doubt priceless) portrait photos and onto the roof to finish with a glass of champagne of course.

Follow that up with the absolute carnage of Valentino Rossi’s entrance, appearing on the gravel drive between an insane number of celebrating fans packed on either side waving flags and taking pictures before going straight up the steps and in the front door to be greeted and embraced by Lord March himself. When he reappeared on the balcony a few minutes later the crowd goes mad, even the photographers on the balcony can be seen smiling and nodding at each other. Have you ever seen anything like this in front of a country house, I doubt it, will it ever happen again, probably, I just home I am there to see it.

Glamour / Elegance

So, it only seems fitting to follow up the house with the Glamour and elegance, it would be all too simple to read about the cars and sights and smells of smoke, petrol, oil slicks, burnt rubber still settling into the tarmac on the hill climb to assume its all down and dirty in the trenches of motorsport but this would be a huge disservice to the festival.

I have already mentioned Cartier Style et Luxe and the more serene areas of the festival along with the luxury cars on display on the stands but it's when the lights go down that this place really starts to sparkle. The Drivers Ball was a spectacular event all by itself with drivers and celebrities arriving at the house in extremely expensive cars and almost just as expensive clothes and jewellery, a far cry from the fireproof overalls and grease-covered team t-shirts and trousers most will be wearing for the rest of the day.

Even as a mere mortal you can attend the GRRC Summer Ball which begins with a preview of the Bonhams auction followed by a three-course dinner, fireworks and light show, you can then dance the night away to music in the garden. These black-tie events held in the house and gardens are befitting of any party held on these grounds at any point in its history.

Gleaming

With the drivers and celebrities proving that they can scrub up well, the cars have to remind us who are really the stars of the show and what better way to do this than to peel back the covering that’s been in place overnight to reveal the gleaming bodywork beneath.

As someone who is one of the first through the gates, I do see a lot of cars still tucked up in their covers from the night before. You can often see the hint of a tyre, the morning light reflects off the metal rim if you are lucky, wait just a bit longer and a team of fresh-faced (on the Thursday, not so much come Sunday) representatives appear in pristine (every day, no excuses) manufacturer selected and branded clothes to reveal this year’s offerings to the world.

This is the kid at Christmas moment, yes, the sign tells you what’s under the wrapping but you’re still excited to see it, bathed in the soft orange glow of the morning light, the melee that ensues as everyone tries to get a look and a picture, a wonderful time of day.

And don’t worry if you are a late arrival there seems to be a team of people assigned to every stand or car who routinely wash and wipe down the cars to keep them looking immaculate no matter how much dust has blown onto them or the many thousands of fingerprints accumulated by each passing hour, and I am also looking at adults when I say this too, the car of your dreams sat in front of you, looking straight out of the factory I mean who can resist that right.

G.A.S.

While almost every driver and rider at the festival is doing their absolute best to remain the right way up and with all their wheels on the floor these guys are doing the exact opposite. In a growing section of the festival is the Goodwood Action Sports Arena, a mix of industrial shipping containers surround huge piles of dirt, giant concrete blocks, inflatable jump bags and other wooden structures and supports. Standing above everything else is a raised podium with a DJ blaring out the tunes as riders arrive alongside him ready to drop into the arena on the steep ramp just feet in front of him.

They put on several shows every day of the festival and even if you don’t know much about the tricks and flips you are watching there is always an MC on the mic explaining the tricks and giving all due credit to the riders as they fly across the sky in front of you, again often upside down before rotating the right way up ready for landing. There are motorbikes, BMX, Mountain bikes and trials bikes (a more appropriate place for Dougie Lampkin to be). Each rider maximises their time on the show with races through obstacle courses, completing tricks with ever-increasing complexity or even just the simple high jump attempts as they each try to outdo the other.

I have to also mention Lee Musselwhite who does his work on a flat dancefloor style podium, the tricks and balance this guy shows is just incredible, he can stand on any part or corner of his bike and spin and control it better than I could even try by sitting on the seat, sitting on the handlebars of his bike facing the wrong way with the back wheel off the floor as he uses his foot to brake and steers the front wheel is almost as impossible for me to comprehend as it must have been for him to invent.

I cannot stress enough how much I recommend seeing the G.A.S. arena show at least once, mainly because I know once you see it once you will just have to see it again.